Michihito Fujii has been working like a factory lately for Netflix, with the majority of his latest works featuring in the streaming service, including “Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045”, and the more recent “Hard Days” and “Village” among others. His latest work, however, signals a change to a “tamer” narrative, as “The Parades” is a drama about the afterlife, inspired by the Fukushima disaster.
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Minako, a TV reporter and single mother, finds herself roaming the area she lived in after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, in search of her lost boy. Soon she realizes though, that she is dead and that the living cannot see or hear her. While getting totally lost about her new reality, she is discovered by Akira, a writer who is in the same situation, who takes her under his wing and introduces her to his...
Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix
Minako, a TV reporter and single mother, finds herself roaming the area she lived in after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, in search of her lost boy. Soon she realizes though, that she is dead and that the living cannot see or hear her. While getting totally lost about her new reality, she is discovered by Akira, a writer who is in the same situation, who takes her under his wing and introduces her to his...
- 3/20/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Alzheimer's and its consequences for the family dynamics is a staple diet of international, festival-friendly cinema, as we can see year after year. Usually, the very topic is used to tell a terminally tragic story, but other roads are also possible. How about a journey of reconciliation?
This is the case with Patrick Dickinson's “Cottontail”, developed from his earlier short “Usagi-san” (2013). The film premiered at Rome Film Festival last year, bringing its auteur the award for the best debut (fiction) feature. It was also screened at Belgrade International Film Festival – Fest, just before its release in Japan, which is, in its own merit, a success for a small indie that is predominantly a British co-production.
However, the story starts in Japan, where recently widowed former writer Kenzaburo (Lily Franky) has to come to terms with his beloved wife Akiko's (Tae Kimura) passing as the consequence of Alzheimer's. In his stubbornness,...
This is the case with Patrick Dickinson's “Cottontail”, developed from his earlier short “Usagi-san” (2013). The film premiered at Rome Film Festival last year, bringing its auteur the award for the best debut (fiction) feature. It was also screened at Belgrade International Film Festival – Fest, just before its release in Japan, which is, in its own merit, a success for a small indie that is predominantly a British co-production.
However, the story starts in Japan, where recently widowed former writer Kenzaburo (Lily Franky) has to come to terms with his beloved wife Akiko's (Tae Kimura) passing as the consequence of Alzheimer's. In his stubbornness,...
- 3/17/2024
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
“Kanae (Yoko Maki) struggles to manage her family's bathhouse after her husband, Satoru (Eita Nagayama), suddenly vanishes. She is often possessed by his memories, as well as memories from her childhood that she cannot recall. One day, Takayuki (Arata Iura), a boiler man, comes seeking work and shelter, which Kanae agrees to offer.” (Official)
Undercurrent is Screening as Part of The 2024 Japan Foundation Touring Program
Offering a synopsis only provides a starting point to the work of Rikiya Imaizumi, who, as the press material for the lead-up to the film touring as part of Japan Foundation states, “skilfully portrays the emotions that have long been locked away in people's hearts.” Extending on this concept, “Undercurrents” lingers in that moment of release, making the expression of one's inner emotions not as crucial as stating them. Much of the movie is left open as major questions brought up by characters to others...
Undercurrent is Screening as Part of The 2024 Japan Foundation Touring Program
Offering a synopsis only provides a starting point to the work of Rikiya Imaizumi, who, as the press material for the lead-up to the film touring as part of Japan Foundation states, “skilfully portrays the emotions that have long been locked away in people's hearts.” Extending on this concept, “Undercurrents” lingers in that moment of release, making the expression of one's inner emotions not as crucial as stating them. Much of the movie is left open as major questions brought up by characters to others...
- 2/18/2024
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
It's not the first time that internationally acclaimed maestro Hirokazu Koreeda put his effort on a serial drama. In 2019 he directed the first episode and coordinated the collective show “A Day-Off of Kasumi Arimura” and before that, in 2012, he directed the lovely (a personal favourite) “Going My Home”, starring Hiroshi Abe as a clumsy father struggling with his roles as son and as father too. However, his recent “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House” has been propelled to global audience by the intervention of giant platform Netflix. The show is co-written, co-produced and co-directed by Koreeda, alongside a handful of Japanese filmmakers and is based on a famous manga of the same title that has sold more than 1.8 million copies in Japan.
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After seeing maiko (apprentice geishas) walking the street of Kyoto on a school trip, 16-year-old inseparable best...
Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix
After seeing maiko (apprentice geishas) walking the street of Kyoto on a school trip, 16-year-old inseparable best...
- 12/31/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Hitoshi Ozawa as Torada, in Bad City. Courtesy of WellGoUSA
The subtitled Japanese crime flick, Bad City, delivers the goods on two essential counts – an atypically complex plot with a handful of switches and double-crosses, building to an adrenaline-satisfying series of hard-nosed fight sequences. This is the second feature from director Kensuke Sonomora, after nearly 20 years of steady stunt work, including many gigs as stunt coordinator or action director. Experience shows, as this film seems more cohesive and focused than his first crime drama, Hydra, while still dishing out the mayhem that motivates most potential viewers.
Disgraced police captain Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) is granted parole by an idealistic prosecutor to go after the city’s most powerful tycoon/criminal, Gojo (Lily Franky), who’d just been undeservedly acquitted on racketeering charges. Gojo’s tentacles reach high into every branch of government and law enforcement, making regular attempts to nail him futile.
The subtitled Japanese crime flick, Bad City, delivers the goods on two essential counts – an atypically complex plot with a handful of switches and double-crosses, building to an adrenaline-satisfying series of hard-nosed fight sequences. This is the second feature from director Kensuke Sonomora, after nearly 20 years of steady stunt work, including many gigs as stunt coordinator or action director. Experience shows, as this film seems more cohesive and focused than his first crime drama, Hydra, while still dishing out the mayhem that motivates most potential viewers.
Disgraced police captain Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) is granted parole by an idealistic prosecutor to go after the city’s most powerful tycoon/criminal, Gojo (Lily Franky), who’d just been undeservedly acquitted on racketeering charges. Gojo’s tentacles reach high into every branch of government and law enforcement, making regular attempts to nail him futile.
- 8/1/2023
- by Mark Glass
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
"Beating up a good guy is violence, but beating up a bad guy is justice." Well Go has revealed a new official trailer for the Japanese action thriller film titled Bad City, from filmmaker Kensuke Sonomura. This looks Damn good!! It initially premiered at the 2022 Neuchâtel Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland, and it also played at Fantastic Fest last year, arriving in the US this August to watch. Kaiko City is plagued with poverty and crime. When a corrupt businessman decides to run for mayor and starts eliminating opponents from the rival mafia, a former police captain serving time for murder is secretly released and put in charge of a task force to find & arrest him. Starring Hitoshi Ozawa, Akane Sakanoue, Katsuya, Masanori Mimoto, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Yasukaze Motomiya, Tak Sakaguchi, Kazuki Namioka, Lily Franky, and Mitsu Dan. Bad City is an homage to V-Cinema. Reviews are god, saying "Ozawa just...
- 7/24/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
A taskforce of honest cops is assembled to tackle the gangsters menacing Kaiko City. Many punches are thrown in choreographed style
Director Kensuke Sonomura started off as a stunt performer and coordinator, so it’s no surprise that his second directorial effort contains lashings of hand-to-hand combat. Indeed, just as the climactic cops v gangsters showdown is about to kick off, elderly lawman Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) urges everyone not to use silly, unsporting guns, and miraculously both sides agree and go to it with fists and knives. It’s just as well because, hitherto, almost every time someone has fired a gun in anger in this film they have missed the target. Does that mean all those movies where folks hit their target with one bullet are lying? Or is this one, where everyone is pants at shooting, the misrepresentation? Either way, it’s almost enough to make you question...
Director Kensuke Sonomura started off as a stunt performer and coordinator, so it’s no surprise that his second directorial effort contains lashings of hand-to-hand combat. Indeed, just as the climactic cops v gangsters showdown is about to kick off, elderly lawman Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) urges everyone not to use silly, unsporting guns, and miraculously both sides agree and go to it with fists and knives. It’s just as well because, hitherto, almost every time someone has fired a gun in anger in this film they have missed the target. Does that mean all those movies where folks hit their target with one bullet are lying? Or is this one, where everyone is pants at shooting, the misrepresentation? Either way, it’s almost enough to make you question...
- 2/28/2023
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Call Me Chihiro is a movie directed by Rikiya Imaizumi starring Kasumi Arimura. With Lily Franky and Jun Fubuki. It is based on a manga by Hiroyuki Yasuda.
This movie seeks enchanting the viewer with the always charming presence of Kasumi Arimura in a movie created for her in which she manages to bring that “special touch” of special manga by Hiroyuki Yasuda.
Movie Review Call Me Chihiro (2023)
This movie is all about taking its time in order to describe the characters and the situations, the inner world and, above all, that poetic world that extends itself beyond the narrative, which is apparently simple and even uncomplicated if considered from a classic way, but is essentially paused and reflective, a very beautiful movie.
Call Me Chihiro is, above all a movie in which the lead character knows how to seduce the viewer and displays herself exactly as she is: this...
This movie seeks enchanting the viewer with the always charming presence of Kasumi Arimura in a movie created for her in which she manages to bring that “special touch” of special manga by Hiroyuki Yasuda.
Movie Review Call Me Chihiro (2023)
This movie is all about taking its time in order to describe the characters and the situations, the inner world and, above all, that poetic world that extends itself beyond the narrative, which is apparently simple and even uncomplicated if considered from a classic way, but is essentially paused and reflective, a very beautiful movie.
Call Me Chihiro is, above all a movie in which the lead character knows how to seduce the viewer and displays herself exactly as she is: this...
- 2/23/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Satoshi (Taketo Tanaka) loses his eyesight completely at the age of 9 despite numerous surgeries, but grows up with cheerful spirit thanks to his mother Reiko’s (Koyuki) unconditional love. Surrounded by affection and friendship at high school, Satoshi’s future seems bright until one day his family realizes that he is losing his hearing as well. Determined to never give up, Reiko tries everything she can to give him a hope. Inspiring true story of a mother and son, who became the first blind and deaf professor in the world – Satoshi Fukushima.
Based on a true story, the film portrays the journey of a blind boy and his family with unconditional love. First lights, then sounds completely disappear from a boy’s life. And no matter what, his mother is determined to stand by her beloved son. This is a story about the love between a mother and son and...
Based on a true story, the film portrays the journey of a blind boy and his family with unconditional love. First lights, then sounds completely disappear from a boy’s life. And no matter what, his mother is determined to stand by her beloved son. This is a story about the love between a mother and son and...
- 2/6/2023
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Lily Franky, Tak Sakaguchi, Rino Katase, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Mitsu Dan, Masaya Katō, Hitoshi Ozawa, Hideto Katsuya, Masanori Mimoto, Akane Sakanoue | Directed by Kensuke Sonomura
Wataru Gojō CEO of the Gojo Conglomerate is the most powerful man in Kaiko City, the Bad City of the title. He’s just been acquitted of corruption charges and declared his candidacy for mayor in order to go after those he says are really behind the corruption.
As he’s holding a press conference an assassin is hacking their way through members of the Sakurada Yakuza clan. Suspicion falls on the Korean mafia and their enigmatic leader Madam. It may not be a coincidence that their chief enforcer Kim Seung-gi, and Gojō are acquainted.
As open warfare breaks out on the city’s streets the head of public safety Koizumi and Chief Prosecutor Hirayama form an unofficial task force to take Gojō. Unfortunately, the...
Wataru Gojō CEO of the Gojo Conglomerate is the most powerful man in Kaiko City, the Bad City of the title. He’s just been acquitted of corruption charges and declared his candidacy for mayor in order to go after those he says are really behind the corruption.
As he’s holding a press conference an assassin is hacking their way through members of the Sakurada Yakuza clan. Suspicion falls on the Korean mafia and their enigmatic leader Madam. It may not be a coincidence that their chief enforcer Kim Seung-gi, and Gojō are acquainted.
As open warfare breaks out on the city’s streets the head of public safety Koizumi and Chief Prosecutor Hirayama form an unofficial task force to take Gojō. Unfortunately, the...
- 10/5/2022
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Click here to read the full article.
Well Go USA has acquired all North American rights to Japanese director Kensuke Sonomura’s heavy-hitting crime thriller Bad City.
A follow-up to the genre director’s assassin thriller Hydra from last year, Bad City will screen at Austin’s Fantastic Fest on Friday, followed by an in-competition slot at Sitges in October.
Well Go will first release the film over its martial arts specialty streamer Hi-yah! as a Hi-yah! Original, followed by a theatrical outing and broader VOD release sometime later this year.
The film is set in Kaiko City, a place torn apart by rampant corruption and violence amongst a private conglomerate, the yakuza and even the authorities. But after a mafia-connected businessman runs for mayor and begins systematically eliminating his opponents, a former police captain imprisoned for murder is released in a desperate, last-ditch effort to take the corrupt tycoon down.
Well Go USA has acquired all North American rights to Japanese director Kensuke Sonomura’s heavy-hitting crime thriller Bad City.
A follow-up to the genre director’s assassin thriller Hydra from last year, Bad City will screen at Austin’s Fantastic Fest on Friday, followed by an in-competition slot at Sitges in October.
Well Go will first release the film over its martial arts specialty streamer Hi-yah! as a Hi-yah! Original, followed by a theatrical outing and broader VOD release sometime later this year.
The film is set in Kaiko City, a place torn apart by rampant corruption and violence amongst a private conglomerate, the yakuza and even the authorities. But after a mafia-connected businessman runs for mayor and begins systematically eliminating his opponents, a former police captain imprisoned for murder is released in a desperate, last-ditch effort to take the corrupt tycoon down.
- 9/23/2022
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Although Kensuke Sonomura has started his career doing stunt work for various productions, such as John Woo’s “Manhunt” and Yugo Sakamoto’s “Baby Assassins”, ever since his debut feature “Hydra” (2019) he has also made a name for himself as a director. Given the level of skill in the action and martial arts-scenes of “Hydra”, there are many indicators Sonomura has gained quite the knowledge about genre filmmaking, blending storytelling, character development and hard-hitting action. While his second project, “Bad City” also incorporates martial arts, the story goes in a somewhat different direction, blending thriller and yakuza drama, following a plot dealing with the connection of organized crime and politics.
Bad City is screening at Camera Japan
For many years, Kaiko City has been a place defined by crime, violence and corruption. The latest events, however, a massacre at a bath house and the acquittal of a local businessman named...
Bad City is screening at Camera Japan
For many years, Kaiko City has been a place defined by crime, violence and corruption. The latest events, however, a massacre at a bath house and the acquittal of a local businessman named...
- 9/22/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Teenagers locked in their rooms, chained to the desks, drawing frantically, ignoring personal hygiene and feeding on instant noodles, only to be able to appear – even just once – in a comic magazine, is undoubtedly difficult material to forge and transform into an exciting action story, but somehow, Hitoshi One succeeds in such a task. The director is rather familiar with manga adaptations and his 2015 film “Bakuman” is a good live action film from a well-known manga, which, despite its two-hour duration, amuses and engages.
on YesAsia
Japanese comics (manga) are very popular and “consumed” also in the West. In the last decades they wormed their way through all the European countries with their own strong tradition of comics, like Italy, France, Belgium, Spain. However, it is worth mentioning that, in Japan, the mangakas (comic book artists) are real stars, on a par with their characters. Becoming an...
on YesAsia
Japanese comics (manga) are very popular and “consumed” also in the West. In the last decades they wormed their way through all the European countries with their own strong tradition of comics, like Italy, France, Belgium, Spain. However, it is worth mentioning that, in Japan, the mangakas (comic book artists) are real stars, on a par with their characters. Becoming an...
- 8/17/2022
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Further titles include ‘Doctor Jekyll’ and ‘Starve Acre’.
The UK Global Screen Fund is to award 10 features with support for their international distribution, including upcoming comedy A Gaza Weekend and period romance Summerland.
The titles will receive a share of £273,000 allocated through the international distribution stand of the £7m fund, which was piloted last year by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms) to boost international opportunities for the UK’s independent screen sector following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. It is administered by the British Film Institute (BFI), which confirmed the scheme’s renewal for...
The UK Global Screen Fund is to award 10 features with support for their international distribution, including upcoming comedy A Gaza Weekend and period romance Summerland.
The titles will receive a share of £273,000 allocated through the international distribution stand of the £7m fund, which was piloted last year by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms) to boost international opportunities for the UK’s independent screen sector following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. It is administered by the British Film Institute (BFI), which confirmed the scheme’s renewal for...
- 6/24/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Yoji Yamada’s 92nd film, which is based on the novel “Kinema no Kamisama” by popular multiple prize-winning novelist Maha Harada, inspired by her own family and experiences, is also a commemoration of Shochiku Films’ centennial, and particularly its trademark style, ‘Bright and Cheerful Shochiku Cinema’
“It’s a Flickering Life” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Goh is an elderly man who has always had problems with gambling, forcing his wife Yoshiko and daughter, Ayumu, to bail him out a number of times, despite the fact that he had repeatedly promised not to do it again. This time, however, neither his daughter nor his wife are willing to help once more, with the latter taking over all his financial matters on her hands, and sending him back to deal with his second big passion, cinema. Goh now has to go back to his old friend and associate from...
“It’s a Flickering Life” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Goh is an elderly man who has always had problems with gambling, forcing his wife Yoshiko and daughter, Ayumu, to bail him out a number of times, despite the fact that he had repeatedly promised not to do it again. This time, however, neither his daughter nor his wife are willing to help once more, with the latter taking over all his financial matters on her hands, and sending him back to deal with his second big passion, cinema. Goh now has to go back to his old friend and associate from...
- 6/17/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
For its subject matter, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” is a magnificent story, featuring several accomplished and intriguing actors, and using these to bring life to the world of magazine editing. Director Daihachi Yoshida does so with a mix of drama and comedy, making for a surprisingly fun film.
“The Fangs of Fiction” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
One of the many films delayed due to Covid-19, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” details the story of a Japanese magazine in current times, where many of them, including this one, are on the brink of collapse. Teruya Hayami (Yo Oizumi) is tasked to work on one magazine, Trinity, to keep it afloat and make it flourish once again. By using innovating tactics, some of which highly risky, he, with the help of young and passionate Megumi Takano (Mayu Matsuoka), tries to do everything in his capacity to make sure...
“The Fangs of Fiction” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
One of the many films delayed due to Covid-19, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” details the story of a Japanese magazine in current times, where many of them, including this one, are on the brink of collapse. Teruya Hayami (Yo Oizumi) is tasked to work on one magazine, Trinity, to keep it afloat and make it flourish once again. By using innovating tactics, some of which highly risky, he, with the help of young and passionate Megumi Takano (Mayu Matsuoka), tries to do everything in his capacity to make sure...
- 6/10/2022
- by Reinier Brands
- AsianMoviePulse
by John Peter Chua
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Palme d’Or winning film Shoplifters follows a unique family with dark secrets in this extraordinary family-crime drama
Osamu Shibata (Lily Franky) is a day laborer, his wife Nobuya (Sakura Ando) is a hotel laundry worker, and their daughter Aki is a hostess at a peep show club. They don’t make enough to survive and have to rely on grandmother Hatsue’s (Kirin Kiki) monthly pension. To make extra cash, Nobuya steals little trinkets from her clients’ laundry. On the other hand, Osamu, along with his son Shota (Kairi Jo), goes to convenient stores to shoplift for their household needs. On their way home from a successful operation, Osamu and Shota chance upon Yuri (Miyu Sasaki), a little girl left by her parents outside their house in the cold. Deciding it’s unsafe for her to stay there, Osamu takes Yuri home to their rundown house.
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Palme d’Or winning film Shoplifters follows a unique family with dark secrets in this extraordinary family-crime drama
Osamu Shibata (Lily Franky) is a day laborer, his wife Nobuya (Sakura Ando) is a hotel laundry worker, and their daughter Aki is a hostess at a peep show club. They don’t make enough to survive and have to rely on grandmother Hatsue’s (Kirin Kiki) monthly pension. To make extra cash, Nobuya steals little trinkets from her clients’ laundry. On the other hand, Osamu, along with his son Shota (Kairi Jo), goes to convenient stores to shoplift for their household needs. On their way home from a successful operation, Osamu and Shota chance upon Yuri (Miyu Sasaki), a little girl left by her parents outside their house in the cold. Deciding it’s unsafe for her to stay there, Osamu takes Yuri home to their rundown house.
- 12/11/2021
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
For its subject matter, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” is a magnificent story, featuring several accomplished and intriguing actors, and using these to bring life to the world of magazine editing. Director Daihachi Yoshida does so with a mix of drama and comedy, making for a surprisingly fun film.
“Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” is screening at Japan Cuts
One of the many films delayed due to Covid-19, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” details the story of a Japanese magazine in current times, where many of them, including this one, are on the brink of collapse. Teruya Hayami (Yo Oizumi) is tasked to work on one magazine, Trinity, to keep it afloat and make it flourish once again. By using innovating tactics, some of which highly risky, he, with the help of young and passionate Megumi Takano (Mayu Matsuoka), tries to do everything in his capacity to make sure the...
“Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” is screening at Japan Cuts
One of the many films delayed due to Covid-19, “Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction” details the story of a Japanese magazine in current times, where many of them, including this one, are on the brink of collapse. Teruya Hayami (Yo Oizumi) is tasked to work on one magazine, Trinity, to keep it afloat and make it flourish once again. By using innovating tactics, some of which highly risky, he, with the help of young and passionate Megumi Takano (Mayu Matsuoka), tries to do everything in his capacity to make sure the...
- 8/24/2021
- by Reinier Brands
- AsianMoviePulse
The Ainu are an East Asian ethnic group indigenous to northern Japan, the original inhabitants of Hokkaido and some of its nearby Russian territories. A number of those who have not been fully assimilated as Japanese are living in small communities such as the one in Hokkaido the movie focuses on, essentially surviving through tourism. It is also worth noting that there has been a rise of interest towards these marginalized communities thorough “Golden Kamuy” a multi-awarded manga that focuses on Ainu people and has already sold more than 18 million copies and spawned three seasons of the homonymous anime. “Ainu Mosir” takes a much more grounded approach to the issue by focusing on a coming of age story.
Ainu Mosir is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia
The young boy in question is 14-year-old Kanto, a descendant of Japan’s indigenous people, who has just lost his father and is feeling...
Ainu Mosir is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia
The young boy in question is 14-year-old Kanto, a descendant of Japan’s indigenous people, who has just lost his father and is feeling...
- 4/15/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Father and daughter relationship, corporate vs rock, fear of aging and near-death experience are only some of the hot topics that TV and commercial director Shinji Hamasaki has chosen to tackle and turn them into a madcap comedy in his first feature film “Not Quite Dead Yet”.
Not Quite Dead Yet is screening at Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
Nanase Nobata (Suzu Hirose) is a brilliant scientist, fresh from University and with a dad who is president of the Nobata Pharmaceutics, a leading pharmaceutical company well known for their research on a rejuvenation drug called Romeo. It could be an ideal situation for Nanase if a little detail wasn’t in the way; Nanase hates her father and she would like to see him dead. So much so that she has written a song about it for her idol death metal band Soulzz. She despises him at the point that...
Not Quite Dead Yet is screening at Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
Nanase Nobata (Suzu Hirose) is a brilliant scientist, fresh from University and with a dad who is president of the Nobata Pharmaceutics, a leading pharmaceutical company well known for their research on a rejuvenation drug called Romeo. It could be an ideal situation for Nanase if a little detail wasn’t in the way; Nanase hates her father and she would like to see him dead. So much so that she has written a song about it for her idol death metal band Soulzz. She despises him at the point that...
- 3/1/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Lily Franky, Ciaran Hinds and Ryô Nishikido (“Hospitality Department”) have joined the cast of Oscar-nominated “Philomena” producer Gabrielle Tana’s forthcoming film “Cottontail,” starring Jessie Buckley.
BAFTA “Brit to Watch” director Patrick Dickinson directs. Japanese actor Franky replaces Ken Watanabe, who was previously attached to star in the pic. Also joining the cast are Japanese Academy Award winner Tae Kimura (“Zero Focus”) and Rin Takanashi (“Like Someone in Love”).
London’s WestEnd Films is handling world sales, and will continue to sell the film at this week’s European Film Market.
“Cottontail” tells the heart-rending story of Kenzaburo (Franky) who, after his wife Akiko (Kimura) passes away in Japan, travels with his estranged son Toshi (Nishikido) and daughter-in-law Satsuki (Takanashi) to the Lake District in England — the land of Beatrix Potter, whose charming tales of Peter Rabbit captivated Akiko as a child.
Akiko had always hoped to travel there one day with Kenzaburo,...
BAFTA “Brit to Watch” director Patrick Dickinson directs. Japanese actor Franky replaces Ken Watanabe, who was previously attached to star in the pic. Also joining the cast are Japanese Academy Award winner Tae Kimura (“Zero Focus”) and Rin Takanashi (“Like Someone in Love”).
London’s WestEnd Films is handling world sales, and will continue to sell the film at this week’s European Film Market.
“Cottontail” tells the heart-rending story of Kenzaburo (Franky) who, after his wife Akiko (Kimura) passes away in Japan, travels with his estranged son Toshi (Nishikido) and daughter-in-law Satsuki (Takanashi) to the Lake District in England — the land of Beatrix Potter, whose charming tales of Peter Rabbit captivated Akiko as a child.
Akiko had always hoped to travel there one day with Kenzaburo,...
- 3/1/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
I have to admit here, Yuki Tanada is one of the my favorite representatives of the contemporary Japanese indie, with films being like “Moon & Cherry”, “Ain’t No Tomorrows” and “One Million Yen and the Nigamushi Woman” being among the main reasons I enjoy the category so much. “My Dad and Mr Ito” follows in same footsteps as the above films.
“My Dad and Mr Ito” screened at Japan Cuts
Aya is a 34-year-old woman, who, by the standards of the male-dominated, conservative Japan of the past (?), is the epitome of unsuccessfulness: she has a part-time job at a bookstore, she is not married or has any children, and she lives an unambitious but happy life with a man 20 years older than her, Mr Ito. The aforementioned standards come crashing upon her when her father decides to stay with the couple, after driving Aya’s sister-in-law insane with his stubborn and very demanding attitude,...
“My Dad and Mr Ito” screened at Japan Cuts
Aya is a 34-year-old woman, who, by the standards of the male-dominated, conservative Japan of the past (?), is the epitome of unsuccessfulness: she has a part-time job at a bookstore, she is not married or has any children, and she lives an unambitious but happy life with a man 20 years older than her, Mr Ito. The aforementioned standards come crashing upon her when her father decides to stay with the couple, after driving Aya’s sister-in-law insane with his stubborn and very demanding attitude,...
- 9/1/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
By Shikhar Verma
In the contemporary world where people within a room living together have secrets, it’s truly difficult to understand someone completely. All of us reflect two or more character traits because we are never really satisfied with the skin we live in. We hide our pain within these personalities and secrets, as we go on living without understanding our lives and reason for existence. In his debut feature film, Yoshiyuki Kishi explores the idea of existence through his protagonist Tama (Mugi Kadowaki), who stalks (or in her own words ‘tails’) a person without realising the consequences it could possibly lead to.
“Double Life” screened at the New York Asian Film Festival
Based on Mariko Koike’s novel ‘True Stories”, which was in turn based on Sophia Calle’s real life works of shadowing people without any reason, the film follows Tama, a young graduate student as she...
In the contemporary world where people within a room living together have secrets, it’s truly difficult to understand someone completely. All of us reflect two or more character traits because we are never really satisfied with the skin we live in. We hide our pain within these personalities and secrets, as we go on living without understanding our lives and reason for existence. In his debut feature film, Yoshiyuki Kishi explores the idea of existence through his protagonist Tama (Mugi Kadowaki), who stalks (or in her own words ‘tails’) a person without realising the consequences it could possibly lead to.
“Double Life” screened at the New York Asian Film Festival
Based on Mariko Koike’s novel ‘True Stories”, which was in turn based on Sophia Calle’s real life works of shadowing people without any reason, the film follows Tama, a young graduate student as she...
- 8/13/2020
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
Lulu Wang to Direct Adaptation of Hirokazu Kore-eda Drama ‘Like Father, Like Son’ for Focus Features
Lulu Wang has set her follow up to “The Farewell” with a reimagining of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s acclaimed Japanese family drama, “Like Father, Like Son.”
Variety has learned that Wang is attached to direct the project, which is currently in development stages at Focus Features, and will also produce the film with Josh McLaughlin of Wink Productions. The screenplay comes from playwright Sarah Ruhl. Wang addressed reports about the project on Twitter, emphasizing that the film is not “a remake.”
“Leaks on projects are really obnoxious because it lacks total context and all relevant perspective,” Wang wrote. “If people wanted to know what a filmmaker is working on, perhaps they could actually ask the filmmakers involved? I’ve always been very transparent about my passions.”
The new project is adapted from Kore-eda’s Japanese language film, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, going on to win the jury...
Variety has learned that Wang is attached to direct the project, which is currently in development stages at Focus Features, and will also produce the film with Josh McLaughlin of Wink Productions. The screenplay comes from playwright Sarah Ruhl. Wang addressed reports about the project on Twitter, emphasizing that the film is not “a remake.”
“Leaks on projects are really obnoxious because it lacks total context and all relevant perspective,” Wang wrote. “If people wanted to know what a filmmaker is working on, perhaps they could actually ask the filmmakers involved? I’ve always been very transparent about my passions.”
The new project is adapted from Kore-eda’s Japanese language film, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, going on to win the jury...
- 8/12/2020
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
“The Farewell” filmmaker Lulu Wang has reportedly added another major product to her growing slate. Observer reports that Wang has been tapped to direct an English-language remake of the beloved Hirokazu Kore-eda film “Like Father, Like Son” for Focus Features. A source close to Focus confirms the news, and that it is currently in early development stages at the studio. Playwright Sarah Ruhl has been attached to write the screenplay and Wang will produce alongside Josh McLaughlin under his Wink Productions banner.
Kore-eda’s 2013 feature debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won both the Jury Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury – Special Mention. Sundance Selects released the dramedy in the U.S., which examines two very different families who discover that their six-year-old sons were switched at birth. Kore-eda’s film starred Fukuyama Masaharu, Ono Machiko, Maki Yoko, and Lily Franky, and was produced by Kameyama Chihiro,...
Kore-eda’s 2013 feature debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won both the Jury Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury – Special Mention. Sundance Selects released the dramedy in the U.S., which examines two very different families who discover that their six-year-old sons were switched at birth. Kore-eda’s film starred Fukuyama Masaharu, Ono Machiko, Maki Yoko, and Lily Franky, and was produced by Kameyama Chihiro,...
- 8/12/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Hirokazu Koreeda once more proved his prowess in the family drama genre, directing a film that is genuinely Japanese in its themes, motifs, pace and characters.
Three sisters, Sachi, Yoshino and Chika live in a large house in Kamakura. When their estranged father dies, they travel to the country to attend his funeral. While there, they meet their adolescent half-sister, Suzu. A bond quickly forms and the three sisters invite her to live with them in Kamakura. She accepts immediately and gladly and the sisters begin their life together.
Koreeda focuses on the very different characters of the four sisters and the interaction between them, portraying their everyday lives, feelings and thoughts, and all the little moments that define the human nature. Sachi has the role of the mother and boss of the trio. However, her position is often contested by Yoshino, a white-collar bank worker, who...
Three sisters, Sachi, Yoshino and Chika live in a large house in Kamakura. When their estranged father dies, they travel to the country to attend his funeral. While there, they meet their adolescent half-sister, Suzu. A bond quickly forms and the three sisters invite her to live with them in Kamakura. She accepts immediately and gladly and the sisters begin their life together.
Koreeda focuses on the very different characters of the four sisters and the interaction between them, portraying their everyday lives, feelings and thoughts, and all the little moments that define the human nature. Sachi has the role of the mother and boss of the trio. However, her position is often contested by Yoshino, a white-collar bank worker, who...
- 7/30/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Hirokazu Koreeda once more proved his prowess in the family drama genre, directing a film that is genuinely Japanese in its themes, motifs, pace and characters.
Three sisters, Sachi, Yoshino and Chika live in a large house in Kamakura. When their estranged father dies, they travel to the country to attend his funeral. While there, they meet their adolescent half-sister, Suzu. A bond quickly forms and the three sisters invite her to live with them in Kamakura. She accepts immediately and gladly and the sisters begin their life together.
Koreeda focuses on the very different characters of the four sisters and the interaction between them, portraying their everyday lives, feelings and thoughts, and all the little moments that define the human nature. Sachi has the role of the mother and boss of the trio. However, her position is often contested by Yoshino, a white-collar bank worker, who...
Three sisters, Sachi, Yoshino and Chika live in a large house in Kamakura. When their estranged father dies, they travel to the country to attend his funeral. While there, they meet their adolescent half-sister, Suzu. A bond quickly forms and the three sisters invite her to live with them in Kamakura. She accepts immediately and gladly and the sisters begin their life together.
Koreeda focuses on the very different characters of the four sisters and the interaction between them, portraying their everyday lives, feelings and thoughts, and all the little moments that define the human nature. Sachi has the role of the mother and boss of the trio. However, her position is often contested by Yoshino, a white-collar bank worker, who...
- 7/30/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Japan-us-China co-production is set among Japan’s indigenous Ainu people in Hokkaido.
Japan’s Nikkatsu Corp has picked up international rights to Ainu Mosir, directed by Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Fukunaga, which was awarded with a special jury mention at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Set amongst the indigenous Ainu community in Hokkaido in northern Japan, the film follows a 14-year old Ainu boy as he searches for a spiritual connection to his recently deceased father.
The film was co-produced by New York-based Cineric and Japan’s Booster Project, with China’s Zhu Yifei as co-producer. The cast is headed by Kanto Shimokura,...
Japan’s Nikkatsu Corp has picked up international rights to Ainu Mosir, directed by Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Fukunaga, which was awarded with a special jury mention at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Set amongst the indigenous Ainu community in Hokkaido in northern Japan, the film follows a 14-year old Ainu boy as he searches for a spiritual connection to his recently deceased father.
The film was co-produced by New York-based Cineric and Japan’s Booster Project, with China’s Zhu Yifei as co-producer. The cast is headed by Kanto Shimokura,...
- 6/22/2020
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
A nightmare for many, a relief for others, having a parent (or both) cohabiting is, inevitably, a disruption of a couple’s privacy. However, it is something that many family-based cultures expect, especially from daughters. Adapted by Hisako Kurosawa from a novel by Hinako Nakazawa and directed by Yuki Tanada’s ,“My Dad and Mr. Ito” explores these familial dynamics, unraveling within an unconventional clan.
“My Dad and Mr. Ito” is screening as part of Father’s Day Cheer on Asian Pop Up Cinema
In few words at the beginning of the narration, Aya (Juri Ueno) describes Mr. Ito (Lily Franky), who for a short time was her co-worker at a combini (convenience store), as someone she would never go out with. Guess what? They are a couple now and live together. Yes, he is ambition-less and a bit childish even if 20 year older than her, but they both seem...
“My Dad and Mr. Ito” is screening as part of Father’s Day Cheer on Asian Pop Up Cinema
In few words at the beginning of the narration, Aya (Juri Ueno) describes Mr. Ito (Lily Franky), who for a short time was her co-worker at a combini (convenience store), as someone she would never go out with. Guess what? They are a couple now and live together. Yes, he is ambition-less and a bit childish even if 20 year older than her, but they both seem...
- 6/18/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
The notion that possessing a firearm, for most people in a civilized society, is a rare and fascinating thing is the ideological underpinning of Japanese thriller “The Gun 2020.”
The pitch may have its limits in the U.S., but in the hands of director Masaharu Take (“100 Yen Love” “Netflix’ “The Naked Director”) the story flows from a student’s accidental discovery of a handgun, right when she needs it, through to the slaying of a neighbor, and to a police chase. Along the way the back story of both the gun and the woman become clearer.
The film stars “Shoplifters” standout Lily Franky as a detective, alongside Kyoko Hinami and Koichi Sato. It is conceived as a sequel of sorts to Take’s “The Gun” which also started with the discovery of a weapon, and was presented at the autumn 2018 edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Heading to a commercial release,...
The pitch may have its limits in the U.S., but in the hands of director Masaharu Take (“100 Yen Love” “Netflix’ “The Naked Director”) the story flows from a student’s accidental discovery of a handgun, right when she needs it, through to the slaying of a neighbor, and to a police chase. Along the way the back story of both the gun and the woman become clearer.
The film stars “Shoplifters” standout Lily Franky as a detective, alongside Kyoko Hinami and Koichi Sato. It is conceived as a sequel of sorts to Take’s “The Gun” which also started with the discovery of a weapon, and was presented at the autumn 2018 edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Heading to a commercial release,...
- 6/17/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Asian Pop-Up Cinema presented by Sophia’s Choice is looking to spread some Father’s Day Cheer with free screenings of three Japanese films on the subject of fatherhood. Registration for each showing is required, you can find those links and more information on the films on Asian Pop Up Cinema site.
The Hikitas’s Are Expecting! (2019) by Toru Hosokawa
Directed by Toru Hosokawa, starring Gaku Hamada, Shiro Ito, Yutaka Matsushige & Keiko Kitawa, this Japanese drama tells the story of a 49-yr-old writer and his wife. They are happily married without children for some time until one day the wife decides she wants a child. After numerous attempts to conceive, nothing happens. In frustration, they go to the hospital to get tests and answers. What they discover is not what was expected. (Asian Pop-up Cinema)
My Dad and Mr. Ito (2016) by Yuki Tanada
Directed by woman director Yuki Tanada, starring Juri Ueno,...
The Hikitas’s Are Expecting! (2019) by Toru Hosokawa
Directed by Toru Hosokawa, starring Gaku Hamada, Shiro Ito, Yutaka Matsushige & Keiko Kitawa, this Japanese drama tells the story of a 49-yr-old writer and his wife. They are happily married without children for some time until one day the wife decides she wants a child. After numerous attempts to conceive, nothing happens. In frustration, they go to the hospital to get tests and answers. What they discover is not what was expected. (Asian Pop-up Cinema)
My Dad and Mr. Ito (2016) by Yuki Tanada
Directed by woman director Yuki Tanada, starring Juri Ueno,...
- 6/10/2020
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
The concept of journalism and its role in the modern, social media era has been an issue addressed quite frequently, in films like “The Journalist” , “The Exclusive: Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” and even this year’s “Reiwa Uprising“. Based on Masato Harada’s 1985 feature, “Out of Focus, Scoop!”, Hitoshi One’s film throws its two cents about the concept through a rather entertaining approach that benefits the film the most.
Shizuka Miyakonojo is a 40-something paparazzi photographer, who is very skilled with camera, but also an irreparable gambler that has amassed a huge debt, which actually forces him to continue hunting celebrities for the latest scoop to sell to Sadako Yokogawa, chief editor of a tabloid magazine. Yokogawa seems to be more than an associate however, and somewhere amidst the rather peculiar relationship she has with Shizuka, she “forces” him to take Nobi Namekawa, a rookie reporter,...
Shizuka Miyakonojo is a 40-something paparazzi photographer, who is very skilled with camera, but also an irreparable gambler that has amassed a huge debt, which actually forces him to continue hunting celebrities for the latest scoop to sell to Sadako Yokogawa, chief editor of a tabloid magazine. Yokogawa seems to be more than an associate however, and somewhere amidst the rather peculiar relationship she has with Shizuka, she “forces” him to take Nobi Namekawa, a rookie reporter,...
- 2/4/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
In my book, Kazuya Shiraishi has raised to be the sterling voice of Japanese mainstream cinema during the last few years, with films like “Birds Without Names“, “The Blood of Wolves” and others combining artistry and context in the most entertaining fashion. “Sea of Revival” attempts to follow in the same footsteps.
Sea of Revival is screening as part of The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
Ikuo works at a printing plant but has troubles with both gambling and drinking, with his life having taken a rather failed path. However, his girlfriend, Ayumi, who lives together with him and her teenage daughter from a previous wedding, Minami, is not willing to let him go. In order to “save” him, and their financial situation, she decides to take the whole family and move to her hometown, Ishinomaki, in her widowed father’s house, where she can also take care of yet another person.
Sea of Revival is screening as part of The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
Ikuo works at a printing plant but has troubles with both gambling and drinking, with his life having taken a rather failed path. However, his girlfriend, Ayumi, who lives together with him and her teenage daughter from a previous wedding, Minami, is not willing to let him go. In order to “save” him, and their financial situation, she decides to take the whole family and move to her hometown, Ishinomaki, in her widowed father’s house, where she can also take care of yet another person.
- 2/2/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
“I thought she’d return to her home.”
Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda has been a guest at many international film festivals, but 2018 might go down as perhaps the most successful of his career. His 13th feature film “Shoplifters” has received not only the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, but as the year reached its end, it was found in many top-ten lists, from critics to general film fans alike. Even though the definition of the family unit with regards to outside factors such as poverty has been at the heart of Kore-eda’s body of work, “Shoplifters” has struck a chrod with many viewers.
But for its director the inspiration came while working on another film. During the production of “Like Father Like Son” (2013), he began to think about what actually makes a family. The film, which is about two families finding out their sons have been...
Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda has been a guest at many international film festivals, but 2018 might go down as perhaps the most successful of his career. His 13th feature film “Shoplifters” has received not only the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, but as the year reached its end, it was found in many top-ten lists, from critics to general film fans alike. Even though the definition of the family unit with regards to outside factors such as poverty has been at the heart of Kore-eda’s body of work, “Shoplifters” has struck a chrod with many viewers.
But for its director the inspiration came while working on another film. During the production of “Like Father Like Son” (2013), he began to think about what actually makes a family. The film, which is about two families finding out their sons have been...
- 8/10/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Bringing together one of the most cult directors (Miike), one of the most popular crime novelists and a great cast seems like a recipe for an inevitable success. How this film managed to be so mediocre, remains a mystery for me. Let us take things from the beginning though.
Higashino, in one of his most surrealistic (even sci-fi one could say) works, bases its story on the concept of the Laplace Demon, a creature that knows the precise location and momentum of every atom in the universe, and thus, can predict everything that will happen in the near future. The film and the actual story, however, begin much differently, through a case of the murder of two people being poisoned to death by hydrogen sulfide at hot springs located in different regions. The police is perplexed and ask Shusuke Aoe, a geochemist college professor, to help, but...
Higashino, in one of his most surrealistic (even sci-fi one could say) works, bases its story on the concept of the Laplace Demon, a creature that knows the precise location and momentum of every atom in the universe, and thus, can predict everything that will happen in the near future. The film and the actual story, however, begin much differently, through a case of the murder of two people being poisoned to death by hydrogen sulfide at hot springs located in different regions. The police is perplexed and ask Shusuke Aoe, a geochemist college professor, to help, but...
- 8/9/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The narrative of the film begins with an adult and a child entering a supermarket. They are together and appear like a father and son duo. They do not say anything but exchange glances and then proceed into the store only to go their separate ways in different alleys. Then the little boy clasps his hands and plays with his fingers in the manner of a sacred ritual. Seconds later he stealthily slips a packet into his bag and later puts some more packets surreptitiously. That sets the ball rolling for Director Kore-eda Hirokazu's social drama, Shoplifters.
The story revolves around Osamu Shibata (Lily Franky) and Shota (Jyo Kairi), the father-son duo who were out shoplifting at the grocery store. On their way back home, they pick up croquettes and as they are sauntering down the streets on the cold winter night, they stumble upon Yuri (Miyu Sasaki), a four-year-old girl,...
The story revolves around Osamu Shibata (Lily Franky) and Shota (Jyo Kairi), the father-son duo who were out shoplifting at the grocery store. On their way back home, they pick up croquettes and as they are sauntering down the streets on the cold winter night, they stumble upon Yuri (Miyu Sasaki), a four-year-old girl,...
- 7/4/2019
- GlamSham
Now entering its 13th year, Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film returns to present the best new movies made in and around Japan and the filmmakers and performers who made them, all appearing in New York for the first time, with many North American and International Premieres. Set for July 19 to 28, the 2019 edition will feature nearly 30 feature films, ranging from box-office smashes to breakout indie debuts, and includes spotlights on documentary cinema, experimental animation, short films and recent restorations and rediscoveries of classic Japanese favorites.
The full schedule will be released on June 11, when tickets go on sale to Japan Society members. Tickets will go on sale to the public on June 18.
This year, the festival’s Centerpiece Presentation on Wednesday, July 24 is the East Coast Premiere of Killing, a subversive samurai drama from influential cult director Shinya Tsukamoto that the filmmaker has described as a “scream” in response...
The full schedule will be released on June 11, when tickets go on sale to Japan Society members. Tickets will go on sale to the public on June 18.
This year, the festival’s Centerpiece Presentation on Wednesday, July 24 is the East Coast Premiere of Killing, a subversive samurai drama from influential cult director Shinya Tsukamoto that the filmmaker has described as a “scream” in response...
- 5/18/2019
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Now entering its 13th year, Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film returns to present the best new movies made in and around Japan and the filmmakers and performers who made them, all appearing in New York for the first time, with many North American and International Premieres. Set for July 19 to 28, the 2019 edition will feature nearly 30 feature films, ranging from box-office smashes to breakout indie debuts, and includes spotlights on documentary cinema, experimental animation, short films and recent restorations and rediscoveries of classic Japanese favorites.
The full schedule will be released on June 11, when tickets go on sale to Japan Society members. Tickets will go on sale to the public on June 18.
This year, the festival’s Centerpiece Presentation on Wednesday, July 24 is the East Coast Premiere of Killing, a subversive samurai drama from influential cult director Shinya Tsukamoto that the filmmaker has described as a “scream” in response...
The full schedule will be released on June 11, when tickets go on sale to Japan Society members. Tickets will go on sale to the public on June 18.
This year, the festival’s Centerpiece Presentation on Wednesday, July 24 is the East Coast Premiere of Killing, a subversive samurai drama from influential cult director Shinya Tsukamoto that the filmmaker has described as a “scream” in response...
- 5/3/2019
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Takumi Saitoh is a Japanese actor and model, well known for starring with Aya Ueto in the popular romantic TV-series-turned-film “Hirugao”; his 2017 directorial debut “Blank 13” was a film about a problematic father/son relationship and it turned up to be a very pleasant surprise.
The enigmatic title refers to a 13-year gap in the relationship between Koji (Issei Takahashi) and his father (Lily Franky), a pathological gambler who had suddenly vanished in thin air, leaving behind the wife and their two children. If on one hand his disappearance had freed the family from an inconsiderate father and the constant stream of deb collectors and troubles that came with him, on the other had forced Koji’s mother to work nights and days to make ends meet and consequently leave the two boys to their own devices. All in all, lots of reasons to resent the man and it doesn’t...
The enigmatic title refers to a 13-year gap in the relationship between Koji (Issei Takahashi) and his father (Lily Franky), a pathological gambler who had suddenly vanished in thin air, leaving behind the wife and their two children. If on one hand his disappearance had freed the family from an inconsiderate father and the constant stream of deb collectors and troubles that came with him, on the other had forced Koji’s mother to work nights and days to make ends meet and consequently leave the two boys to their own devices. All in all, lots of reasons to resent the man and it doesn’t...
- 2/5/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Hirokazu Kore-eda's Palme d'Or winner Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku) leads the Japan Academy Prize nominations with 13.
The foreign-language Oscar contender is up for best picture, director, screenplay, actor (Lily Franky), actress (Sakura Ando), supporting actress (the late Kiki Kirin), music, sound, cinematography, production design, lighting and editing.
Following closely behind Shoplifters with 12 mentions is Blood of Wolves, starring Koji Yakusho (Memoirs of a Geisha) as a hard-boiled detective in an organized crime division who appears at times too close to the yakuza gangsters he investigates. Directed by Kazuya Shiraishi and based on the novel of the same name by Yuko Yuzuki,...
The foreign-language Oscar contender is up for best picture, director, screenplay, actor (Lily Franky), actress (Sakura Ando), supporting actress (the late Kiki Kirin), music, sound, cinematography, production design, lighting and editing.
Following closely behind Shoplifters with 12 mentions is Blood of Wolves, starring Koji Yakusho (Memoirs of a Geisha) as a hard-boiled detective in an organized crime division who appears at times too close to the yakuza gangsters he investigates. Directed by Kazuya Shiraishi and based on the novel of the same name by Yuko Yuzuki,...
- 1/16/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Hirokazu Kore-eda's Palme d'Or winner Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku) leads the Japan Academy Prize nominations with 13.
The foreign-language Oscar contender is up for best picture, director, screenplay, actor (Lily Franky), actress (Sakura Ando), supporting actress (the late Kiki Kirin), music, sound, cinematography, production design, lighting and editing.
Following closely behind Shoplifters with 12 mentions is Blood of Wolves, starring Koji Yakusho (Memoirs of a Geisha) as a hard-boiled detective in an organized crime division who appears at times too close to the yakuza gangsters he investigates. Directed by Kazuya Shiraishi and based on the novel of the same name by Yuko Yuzuki,...
The foreign-language Oscar contender is up for best picture, director, screenplay, actor (Lily Franky), actress (Sakura Ando), supporting actress (the late Kiki Kirin), music, sound, cinematography, production design, lighting and editing.
Following closely behind Shoplifters with 12 mentions is Blood of Wolves, starring Koji Yakusho (Memoirs of a Geisha) as a hard-boiled detective in an organized crime division who appears at times too close to the yakuza gangsters he investigates. Directed by Kazuya Shiraishi and based on the novel of the same name by Yuko Yuzuki,...
- 1/16/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dec. 6 felt a bit like déjà-vu for one director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, whose German film “Never Look Away” landed just one of five berths in the Golden Globes foreign-language film category, along with fellow nominees “Shoplifters” (Japan), “Capernaum” (Lebanon), “Girl” (Belgium) and “Roma” (Mexico).
“We’re not even five hours from the announcement, and I’m getting emails and calls from all over the world,” he marvels. “A film can remain invisible without help like this from such a powerful organization. The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. gives it a voice.”
Von Donnersmarck knows what a Globe nomination in that category can mean for good reason: A dozen years ago, his film “The Lives of Others” also earned a Globe nomination, then went on to win the Academy Award for foreign-language film. But such nominations and wins tend to spotlight directors. Actors are relegated to the background — because barring the...
“We’re not even five hours from the announcement, and I’m getting emails and calls from all over the world,” he marvels. “A film can remain invisible without help like this from such a powerful organization. The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. gives it a voice.”
Von Donnersmarck knows what a Globe nomination in that category can mean for good reason: A dozen years ago, his film “The Lives of Others” also earned a Globe nomination, then went on to win the Academy Award for foreign-language film. But such nominations and wins tend to spotlight directors. Actors are relegated to the background — because barring the...
- 1/4/2019
- by Randee Dawn
- Variety Film + TV
Based on the novel Nobi by Natto Wada, the original, 1959 film, instigated much controversy in the west, for its grotesqueness and the fact that it portrayed Japanese soldiers as victims. In Japan, however, it was immediately hailed for its anti-war message and artfulness, winning a number of awards in local festivals, before Locarno also netted it the Golden Sail for Best Film in 1961. However, through the years, the film was recognized globally, and is currently considered a masterpiece. Shinya Tsukamoto presents a low-budget (the film was produced through his own company Kaijyu theater), gorier take on the story of a Japanese soldier trying to survive during the last days of the war, as the Imperial Army retreats in disorderly fashion.
The soldier’s name is Tamura, a low-level soldier who suffers from TB, and is kicked out by both his commanding officer and the doctor in charge of the field hospital,...
The soldier’s name is Tamura, a low-level soldier who suffers from TB, and is kicked out by both his commanding officer and the doctor in charge of the field hospital,...
- 1/2/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Winner of the Cinema Splash Award for Best Director, “The Gun” is one of the most impressive films of the year and a rather interesting turn in 2018 for Masaharu Take, whose previous film this season was the light comedy “We Make Antiques“.
The script is based on Fuminori Nakamura’s Akutagawa award winner novel “Ju” and focuses on university student Toru Nishikawa, a rather detached young man whose life turns upside down when he discovers a gun by the riverside on his way home, and decides to pick it up and keep it. Initially, the gun gives him confidence and even swagger, which allows him to end up having sex with a gorgeous woman after a double date, and at the same time to pursue a relationship with fellow student Yuko, who seems to be rather interested in him. When he finds out, though, that the gun was used in...
The script is based on Fuminori Nakamura’s Akutagawa award winner novel “Ju” and focuses on university student Toru Nishikawa, a rather detached young man whose life turns upside down when he discovers a gun by the riverside on his way home, and decides to pick it up and keep it. Initially, the gun gives him confidence and even swagger, which allows him to end up having sex with a gorgeous woman after a double date, and at the same time to pursue a relationship with fellow student Yuko, who seems to be rather interested in him. When he finds out, though, that the gun was used in...
- 12/13/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Mark Harrison Nov 27, 2018
Hirokazu Kore-eda's Palme d'Or winning family drama is terrific and transfixing.
Fresh off a Palme d'Or win at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Shoplifters centers around the Shibatas, a family living in poverty in suburban Tokyo. Cramming seven characters into a bungalow, writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda mounts an absorbing drama about who these people are and how much they mean to one another.
In this setting, the winters are always too cold and the summers are always intolerably hot, with the common problem being that they are almost too poor to get by in any season. That said, the Shibata family seem to be doing better than other local families, and that's partly because Osamu (Lily Franky) is teaching his young son Shota (Kairi Jō) how to steal groceries and other essentials.
Osamu justifies this to himself and his family by saying that if someone hasn't bought it yet,...
Hirokazu Kore-eda's Palme d'Or winning family drama is terrific and transfixing.
Fresh off a Palme d'Or win at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Shoplifters centers around the Shibatas, a family living in poverty in suburban Tokyo. Cramming seven characters into a bungalow, writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda mounts an absorbing drama about who these people are and how much they mean to one another.
In this setting, the winters are always too cold and the summers are always intolerably hot, with the common problem being that they are almost too poor to get by in any season. That said, the Shibata family seem to be doing better than other local families, and that's partly because Osamu (Lily Franky) is teaching his young son Shota (Kairi Jō) how to steal groceries and other essentials.
Osamu justifies this to himself and his family by saying that if someone hasn't bought it yet,...
- 11/26/2018
- Den of Geek
Delicate business is being transacted in this soft-spoken, cinematic treasure from Hirokazu Kore-eda, the Japanese master behind films like Nobody Knows, Like Father, Like Son and After the Storm. Still, Shoplifters made a big noise at the Cannes Film Festival in May, going home with the Palme d’Or — and you only need to watch this quietly devastating gem to see why. Set in a residential, non-touristy part of Tokyo, his latest focuses on a family crowded together in a ramshackle house. They seem like any other affectionate, dysfunctional clan,...
- 11/21/2018
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Photo: Warner Bros).
Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts sequel worked its magic on moviegoers last weekend, ringing up $253.6 million worldwide as the Australian opening outshone the Us debut.
It was a buoyant frame in Oz, boosted by Trafalgar Releasing’s Burn the Stage: The Movie, while another alternate content release, Rialto’s Spitfire was less successful.
The Old Man & the Gun, which could be Robert Redford’s final screen role, is playing on limited screens in the Us but went out far wider here via eOne with modest results.
Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black reached $11.7 million after earning $74,000 in its ninth frame for Sony Pictures. Meanwhile Catherine Scott’s Backtrack Boys has generated $104,000 and Heath Davis’ comedy-drama Book Week has collected $34,000.
Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes, stole a respectable $52,000 on 15 screens and $161,000 including festival screenings and previews for Rialto.
Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts sequel worked its magic on moviegoers last weekend, ringing up $253.6 million worldwide as the Australian opening outshone the Us debut.
It was a buoyant frame in Oz, boosted by Trafalgar Releasing’s Burn the Stage: The Movie, while another alternate content release, Rialto’s Spitfire was less successful.
The Old Man & the Gun, which could be Robert Redford’s final screen role, is playing on limited screens in the Us but went out far wider here via eOne with modest results.
Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black reached $11.7 million after earning $74,000 in its ninth frame for Sony Pictures. Meanwhile Catherine Scott’s Backtrack Boys has generated $104,000 and Heath Davis’ comedy-drama Book Week has collected $34,000.
Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes, stole a respectable $52,000 on 15 screens and $161,000 including festival screenings and previews for Rialto.
- 11/19/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku) Magnolia Pictures Reviewed by: Harvey Karten Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu Screenwriter: Kore-eda Hirokazu Cast: Lily Franky, Ando Sakura, Matsuoka Mayu, Kiki Kilin, Jyo Kairi, Sasaki Miyu Screened at: Park Ave., NYC, 10/31/18 Opens: November 23, 2018 It could be an ordeal for a typical American audience to watch two hours of a film […]
The post Shoplifters Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Shoplifters Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 11/18/2018
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Exclusive: From veteran filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, family drama Shoplifters is Japan’s submission for the Foreign Language Oscar race this year. Ahead of Magnolia Pictures’ release of the Palme d’Or winner in U.S. theaters on November 23, we’ve got an exclusive clip — check it out above.
The story of a family of small-time crooks has been a box office winner at home, becoming the acclaimed director’s biggest title at local turnstiles with about $38M. In China over the summer, it became the highest grossing live-action Japanese movie ever in the market with over $14M.
In Shoplifters, a dysfunctional band of outsiders is united by fierce loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter her, Osamu’s wife agrees after learning of the hardships she faces.
The story of a family of small-time crooks has been a box office winner at home, becoming the acclaimed director’s biggest title at local turnstiles with about $38M. In China over the summer, it became the highest grossing live-action Japanese movie ever in the market with over $14M.
In Shoplifters, a dysfunctional band of outsiders is united by fierce loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter her, Osamu’s wife agrees after learning of the hardships she faces.
- 11/6/2018
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Based on the novel Nobi by Natto Wada, the original, 1959 film, instigated much controversy in the west, for its grotesqueness and the fact that it portrayed Japanese soldiers as victims. In Japan, however, it was immediately hailed for its anti-war message and artfulness, winning a number of awards in local festivals, before Locarno also netted it the Golden Sail for Best Film in 1961. However, through the years, the film was recognized globally, and is currently considered a masterpiece. Shinya Tsukamoto presents a low-budget (the film was produced through his own company Kaijyu theater), gorier take on the story of a Japanese soldier trying to survive during the last days of the war, as the Imperial Army retreats in disorderly fashion.
The soldier’s name is Tamura, a low-level soldier who suffers from TB, and is kicked out by both his commanding officer and the doctor in charge of the field hospital,...
The soldier’s name is Tamura, a low-level soldier who suffers from TB, and is kicked out by both his commanding officer and the doctor in charge of the field hospital,...
- 11/4/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
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